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Hi good question! And guess what, real estate is not only local, it's hyper local! We have neighborhoods in Cleveland where a split is much more desireable than a colonial and the sale prices reflect that fact. It's also true as the gentleman below stated, it's a matter of who is looking to buy and what is their preference. Traditionally the thought is that colonials are the most desirable home styles. But there are people who love bungalows for the spacious front porches or ranches because they have no stairs to maneuver and you can stay there when you get older! Are you looking to buy a home and wondering about resale value? Or are you having trouble selling a split? If you are looking to buy, I think you can figure out the pro's and con's of each style's floor plan and decide for yourself what suits your lifestyle... if you are trying to sell one, I suggest contacting a neighborhood specialist (realtorÂ®) in your area who can help you with the sale. Lot's of things we don't know but I love reading all the answers and chiming in myself lol Good luck to you!

Absolutely a split foyer is harder to sell that a colonial. The reason is that with a split foyer you get a lot of square footage for the buck, but you have to go up and down stairs each time you enter the home. With most colonials you don't have to deal with stairs unless you are going to bed. People are very intune with carrying groceries up stairs everytime the come home from the grocery store, or kids downstairs every morning when they get ready to go to work. That does not mean we don't sell them, but they are tougher to sell.

As a buyer, you might get more sq footage and more amenities as a result. Keep in mind that you may have to dscount accordingly once you are on the sell side if you pursue this route. There are simply more buyers pursuing colonials than splits.

Does anyone think about posting an answer to a question that was asked 4 years ago is relevant ? -or- does it look to homebuyers/sellers that the agents that answer do not pay attention to details?

I guess that this question could be relevent in todays market.. but would it look better for the agent to state.. "I know this question was asked 4 years ago, but in todays market".. blah, blah... instead of looking like just sitting at the table and not noticing you are the only one there? Or is that just my interpretation?

After researching actual sales on the GSMLS, this does not appear to be the case. Absorption times (time a house stays on market) seems to be around 10-16 weeks, depending on the town. It does not seem to depend on the type of house, at least not between splits and colonials. Some towns have more of one than the other -- the point is if you compare in the same town, you get the same answer. More specifically, the absorption can vary by neighborhood within a town as well. So if you compare between very different neighborhoods (for example, a development versus a neighborhood of independent homes) you can get misleadingly different results.

The colonial is by far the most desireable single family home buyers look for. The splits generally are great floor plans too however, they;re notrious for having some smaller bedrooms and some buyers do not like all the levels of stairs. Now I am not sure if your questioning a Side to side split or a front to back or what some may call a bi-level, however both bi-level and split level generally have about the same desireability.

Out of curiosity, I just ran Passaic and Essex Counties. In Passaic, Splits took 70 days, Colonials took 74 days during the past year. In Essex, Splits took 43 days while Colonials came in at 54 days.

In total, there were about 1,500 sales in the sample from the 3 counties. So the Essex and Passaic data seems to confirm what I found in Morris. Splits, believe it or not, sell in ever-so-slightly less time than Colonials. Shocking and disturbing. I will not sleep well tonight.

Well I did a little study in Morris County. I would have thought that Colonials would sell more quickly, because we all know that everyone seems to want a Colonial. However, 349 Split Levels that sold in Morris County over the past year had a median days-on-market of 57 days. During that same period, 504 Colonials built from 1950-1980 (the same era that Splits were built for the most part), had a median days-on-market of 65 days.

So, based on this data, at least in Morris County, it would appear that they both take about 2 months to sell, and design is not the deciding factor. So if you have a Split and price it correctly, it will sell just as fast as a Colonial.

Oh yes! they are tough to sell in NJ. And even tougher as most of them would not have a basement. And as Chris mentioned, the extra flight of stairs does put some people off. Also the new homes being built are all colonials giving the splits a further outdated feel. But I have sold splits and the key to their sale have been their updated interiors.

No, not really. It is a matter of what you like. I have three different kinds of splits listed and they are appealing to many different people. There are 3 , 4 and 5 bedroom splits that are all equally different and offer a different idea as to a colonial, center hall or side hall.

I have seen many colonials that are not as appealing as some splits I have seen.

So, I guess it depends upon the style. I do not agree that there are more buyers pursuing coloials then splits. I do not see that.